perfume wardrobe: 15 posts

Please welcome a contribution from Courtney Humphries, who will join us at Bois de Jasmin. Courtney is a freelance journalist and author living in Boston, and she writes about science, health, and culture for a variety of publications. I especially recommend her article for Wired, Engineering Replacements for Essential Perfume Ingredients. Courtney became enamored with perfume after wandering into a Diptyque shop several years ago and smelling Philosykos, which immediately captured her attention. As she describes, “A quick web search on it led me to perfume blogs and reviews, and my journey went from there.”

Before I became a perfume lover, I regarded fragrance much the same way most of the people I know do: as an afterthought. Perfume was a functional product to help me smell good in social situations. I usually owned just one bottle of perfume, and if I remembered I’d spritz a tiny bit on before going out to a party or on a date. Just as often, I’d forget to put it on before leaving the house, so the bottle would languish on my dresser for months or years, until I tossed it in the trash (in those days I believed perfume “went bad” after a year or two).

When you own only one bottle of fragrance, your choices are minimal—you’re either perfumed or you’re not. For me, that decision depended on whether the occasion met a certain threshold of “specialness” that justified going scented.

But when I became interested in perfume, I began to see fragrance as a source of personal pleasure. I had to make a leap from what had been my “normal” way of thinking about perfume—that everyone needs just a single fragrance—to the quite radical notion that one can collect an entire wardrobe of fragrances.

What are your favorite spring scents? Though we may not yet be done with the snow, our cherry trees are in bloom, and I’m already thinking about spring perfumes. Spices, sandalwood, and amber are slowly giving way to everything crisp and gauzy–citrus, orange blossom, violets, and roses. I’m reaching for Christian Dior Eau Sauvage, Ann Gérard Perle de Mousse, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (it’s the last of my vintage stock, so I ration it carefully), and Chanel No 19 Poudré. L’Occitane Rose 4 Reines was a recent discovery–an inexpensive rose that smells plush and velvety. I will save Hermès 24 Faubourg for those days when I need a warm cashmere wrap.

Speaking of perfume wardrobes, I promised to post a link to my article, The Fragrance Wardrobe, which appeared in the November issue of Red Magazine. It was one of my favorite writing projects last year, and it is a pleasure to share it with you. I hope that you will enjoy it. Please click on the link below to read it, or you can now find it at my Publications page.

Autumn is the time of year when I reach for woods fragrances from my collection, hoping to recall memories of crisp leaves, curls of wood smoke, and the bracing green of pine. Woods fragrances may include sandalwood, cedar, oak, pine, and cypress (plus more), and also include for classification’s sake patchouli and vetiver. Some woods fragrances smell like the outdoors, while others smell like an antique treasure chest and still more use wood as a basenote, skipping the ambient quality and using wood as a background support.

Wood notes are used in both male and female fragrances and may be interpreted differently. In male fragrances, woods can suggest rugged masculinity (Coty Wild Woods) or they can be smoothed over with elegance (Chanel Égoïste). A large amount of sandalwood in Samsaraenhances the seductive nature of this Guerlain classic. I enjoy the dryness and sharpness that wood notes can bring to fragrances, and their combination of elegance and sensuality.

I sometimes receive comments from people who want to learn more about scents, but are afraid that this hobby is too expensive for them. How could you try all of the fragrances you read about without ending up broke? As with most interests, a perfume hobby can be as expensive or as budget conscious as you want. When I was a student living on a meager stipend, spending even $20 on something non-essential required major planning. Today, given my family responsibilities, I need to think twice before every perfume purchase, so I’m still very budget conscious.

But the truth is that the joy of discovering perfume is not in amassing dozens of bottles on your dressing table; it’s in smelling and experiencing the pleasure of scents. For this you need not spend a cent. If you are trying to manage your perfume hobby, let me share a few tips that have helped me learn about scents, understand my perfume tastes and keep within budget.

The November issue of UK’s popular women’s magazine, Red Magazine(Hearst), features my article “The Fragrance Wardrobe” (p. 206-212) on how I went from a single signature perfume to a wardrobe of scents. I also explain why I find fragrance as rewarding and stimulating as music and art, and how to create your own perfume wardrobe. It is available on newsstands now. Red Magazine’s November issue is autumn inspired and includes interesting articles on managing stress, creating healthy meals, picking the ideal skincare and more.

Here is a peak inside the magazine, as well as into my current fall perfume wardrobe.

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angeldiva in Recommend Me a Perfume : March: Hi Lisa, Can you believe I tried this for the first time last year? Go figure- it’s an American scent, but until I read V’s description of it- I had… March 31, 2015 at 2:22pm

angeldiva in Recommend Me a Perfume : March: Bregje, This is a question tailor made for Victoria, if ever I have read one! She is probably well versed on the subject of the herbs pertaining to your family… March 31, 2015 at 2:19pm